2014 Rural Grocery Summit

June 9-10, 2014, Manhattan, KS

Keynote Speakers

“How Can Rural Groceries Help Build Local Food Economies?” Ken Meter, President, Crossroads Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN

“The Little Grocery That Could – It’s the Power of Small,” Mark Winne, Food Systems Author, Santa Fe, NM

“What We’ve Accomplished and What We Need to Accomplish with the Rural Grocery Initiative,” Dr. David Procter, Rural Grocery Initiative

2014 Breakout Sessions

Improving the Grocery Bottom Line: Energy Efficiency

• “The Kansas Corporation Commission’s Energy Program for Rural Grocery Stores,”Ryan Freed and Trayce Heidner, Kansas Corporation Commission, Topeka, KS
• “How $mart,”Brian Dreiling, Midwest Energy, Hays

Bringing Groceries to Food Deserts: Innovative Models of Grocery Operation

• “Rural Food the Co-op Way Option,” Laurel Jones and Patricia Patrie, Bowdon Community Cooperative, Bowdon, ND
• “Succession Planning-Selling Your Store to Your Employees,” Daniel Wallace, Costal Enterprises, Inc., Portland, ME

Food Deserts: Promoting Healthy Food Choices

• “Creating a Sustainable Model of Healthy Eating in a Community,” Kevin Chamberlain, NUVAL, LLC, Chicago, IL
• “Shopper Marketing Nutrition Interventions,” Collin Payne, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
• “Small Food Stores in Rural Communities,” Courtney Pinard, Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, Omaha, NE

Bringing Groceries to Food Deserts: Grocery Operations as Food Hub

• “Northeast Kansas ‘Food Hub’ Feasibility Study: Results and Opportunities for Kansas Rural Grocery Stores,” Eileen Horn, Douglas County Sustainability Coordinator, Lawrence, KS
• “Growing Food Connections through Vertical Integration of Business Models,” (Mobile Grocery Stores) Scott Smith, Healthy Community Store Initiative, Tulsa, OK
• Tim White, Hiawatha Thriftway, Hiawatha, KS

Improving the Grocery Bottom Line: Incorporating Local Produce and Products

• “California Healthy Stores Initiative,” Reyna Villalobos, Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program, Tulare, CA
• “Opportunities, Challenges, and Myths: Selling Locally Grown Food in Your Grocery Store,” Greg Schweser and Kathryn Draeger, University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, St. Paul, MN
• “'From the Land of Kansas': Selling Kansas Products in Our Rural Grocery Stores,” Annarose Hart, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Topeka, KS

Community Organizing for Grocery Stores and Rural Food Access

• “Food Education Agriculture Solutions Together (FEAST),” Sharon Thornberry and Spencer Masterson, Oregon Food Bank, Portland, OR
• “Brown County, KS, FEAST Case Study,” Cole Cottin, Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, KS

Improving the Bottom Line: Grocery Owners Best Grocery Ideas

• “How Rural Stores Can Improve Sales,” Hannah Miller, Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
• “Improving Our Bottom Line: A Panel Discussion with Rural Grocery Owners”
• Increasing Sales by Partnering with Other Local Food Buyers, Cuba Cash Store, Dale Huncovsky, Cuba, KS
• Increasing Sales through Increased Community Support, Hometown Market, Elaine Riley, Minneola, KS
• Increasing Sales, Floyd’s Market, Roger Floyd, Sedan, KS
• Increasing Sales, Central Market, Steve Anderson, Hebron, NE

Toolkits for Grocery Owners

• “The Rural Grocery Toolkit,” Dan Kahl, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS; Cole Cottin, Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, KS; Leslie Manning, River Valley District, KSRE, Clay Center, KS
• “Healthy Food Access Portal,” Pat Smith, The Reinvestment Fund, Philadelphia, PA

National Financing Rural Food Retail

• “Loans to Bring New Stores to High Need Areas,” Matt Nordmann, IFF, St. Louis, MO
  "Healthy Food Financing: Opportunities for Rural Grocers," Miriam Manon, The Food Trust, Philadelphia, PA
• “USDA Assistance for Rural Grocery Stores,” Randy Snider, Iola, KS and David Kramer, Topeka, KS, USDA Rural Development
  

Food Deserts: Measuring the Impacts

• “Measuring the Impact of Food Deserts and Food Balance in Public Health in Rural America,” Mari Gallagher, Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting, Chicago, IL

Bringing Groceries to Food Deserts: Newly Opened Rural Grocery Stores: Challenges and Lessons Learned

• “Chapman Food Mart,” Doug Thompson, Chapman, KS
• Tyler’s Market,” Connie Mefford, Pilot Grove, MO

Improving Your Bottom Line: Customer Service

• “Building Community Support through Customer Service and Effective Grocery Operations,” Doug Cunningham, Affiliated Foods Midwest, Norfolk, NE
• “Strengthening Business through Effective Customer Service,” Mary Ann Riederer, Washburn University, Kansas Small Business Development Council in Glacial Hills, Topeka, KS

Using Policy to Improve Rural Food Access

• “Using Policy Tools to Support Rural Grocery Stores,” Christine Fry, ChangeLab Solutions, Oakland, CA
• “Using Policy to Promote Food Access in Rural Communities,” Natasha Frost, Public Health Law Center, St. Paul, MN and Ashley Jones Wisner, KC Healthy Kids, Kansas City, KS

Financing Rural Food Retail

• “SBA Finance Options for Grocers,” Vanessa Klein, U.S. Small Business Administration, Wichita, KS
• “NetWork Kansas Financing of Small Business,” Imagene Harris, Topeka, KS
• “Community Funding: Rural Grocery Stores like IKE!” Josh Ney, Kansas Securities Commissioner, Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner, Topeka, KS

Marketing Your Store via Social Media

• “Marketing your Store After the Loss of the Local Newspaper,” Steve Smethers and Barbara DeSanto, A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
• “From the Land of Kansas,” Stacy Mayo, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Topeka, KS
• “Is Social Media a Waste of My Time?” Cody Heitschmidt, ESSDAK, Hutchinson, KS